OA199412013

At the hearing before me Mr Stillwell representing the appellant asked for permission to add a further ground of appeal namely that the appellant had not been satisfied that the respondent intended to leave the United Kingdom at the end of her leave to remain. I refused the request for amendment /addition to the grounds of appeal as I felt that there had been sufficient opportunity to put in this ground or any further ground before the hearing of this appeal and also because in any event this ground had not been raised before the First Tier Tribunal.

Mr Stillwell then drew my attention to the fact that the decision to refuse had been reviewed by an Entry Clearance Manager and the Manager had found the decision to be satisfactory. My response to that argument, if that is an argument, is that there is a statutory right of appeal and that right of appeal is neither negated nor diluted by any review that an Entry Clearance Manager may have carried out. Such review process has no relevance to the matter in appeal.

Mr Stillwell then handed me a document entitled Home Office Domestic Workers in private household valid from 06 November 2014. I asked Mr Stillwell if this document had been made available to the First Tier Judge. He said he could not answer that question in the affirmative. I noted that the impugned decision in this case had been made by the appellant on 4 November 2013 and the reasons for the decision to refuse made no mention to this document. Mr Whitwell conceded, quite properly that Guidance does not equate to law or the Rules.

The appeal against the decision of Judge Holder is dismissed. With great respect, the grounds do not even raise arguable errors of law let alone material errors of law. The decision of Judge Holder will stand.

The decision of Judge Holder to make a fee award in the sum of �70 must also stand